Steam driven compressor



Feb- 19, 1935. c. c. FARMER STEAM DRIVEN COMPRESSOR Filed Oct. 28, 1953 WH f IH mi H HH HH H Hm HH .|||||Hm M INVENTOR CLYDE C. FARMER Patented Feb. 19, 1935 UmTlazo STATES STEAM DRIVEN COMPRESSOR Clyde'C. Farmer, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to The Westinghouse Air Brake Company, Wilmerding, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application october 28,1933, serial No. 695,637` 1 claim. (o1. 121-108) This invention relates to steam operated uid compressors, and more particularly to the steam pressure heads or steamchests thereof.

From time to time certain very desirable im.

liy provements, which do not constitute partv of the present invention, have been made in the control valve mechanisms operatively mounted in the steam pressure head of a compressor and these improvements have been of such a nature as to necessitate the making of a new design of head. It has recently been proposed to omit the usual steam inlet passage from the cylinder casing of the compressor and to connect the steam inlet pipe to the compressor head so that the steam from the inlet pipe will pass directly into a steam passage in the head. By reason of this, the usual opening in the head gasket for registration with the steam inlet passage in the cylinder casing Vand the inlet passage in the head is omitted, thus eliminating a hitherto weak spot in the gasket and as a result reduce to a minimum the possibilities of the steam pressure from blowing out this portion of the gasket.

In the manufacture of new compressors the improvements in the controlling valve mechanisms will of course be incorporated and the steam inlet pipe may lead directly to the steam passage in the compressor head as above noted, but in many cases it may be desired to add such improved valve mechanisms to old compressors without disturbing the steam inlet connections, and in order to do this, a new head must be provided in which the steam inlet passage will register with the inlet passage in the old cylinder portion of the compressor.

A customer having compressors in which the steam inlet passage is formed in the cylinder casing and also having compressors in which this passage is omitted and the steam connection is 40 made directly to the head, would ordinarily be put to the expense of carrying in stock two different designs of replacement heads. f

The principal object of the invention is to provide a compressor head which may be readily adapted for use on a compressor having the steam inlet connection leading either to the cylinder casing or to the head of the compressor, thus eliminating the above mentioned objectionable feature of carrying more than one design of re- 50 placement head in stock.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following more detailed description of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing; Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of the usual type of compressor havingan old head. portion; Fig.'j2 is afragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3' is a similar sectional viewv illustrating the new typeof head conditionedfon use with the steam inlet pipe connected to the cylinder casing; Fig. 4 is a similar sectional View illustrating the new head conditioned for use with the steam'inlet pipe connected directly .;to. the` head; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating the construction of the new type of head which may be employed when there is no longer any demand for heads for old compressors in which the steam inlet pipe isconnected to the cylinder casing of the compressor; and Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

According to the invention the head 1 of the steam portion of the compressor is provided with a steam inlet passage 2 and a steam inlet passage 3, both of which lead to a steam passage or chamber 4 and through either of which steam is adapted to be supplied to said chamber. The steam passage 2 is open to a passage 5 in the head, which passage 5 is adapted to register with the steam inlet passage 6 in the cylinder portion of one type of compressor casing, and is in communication with a passage 'l leading to the exterior of the head, said passage 7 being normally closed to the atmosphere by means of a plug 8 having screw-threaded engagement with the head.

The steam inlet passage 3 leads from the exterior of the head and is normally closed by means of a plug 9 having screw-threaded connection with the head.

When the new type of head is applied to the cylinder portion of a compressor casing in which the old steam passage is to be used, the passage 5 registers with the passage 6 and the plugs 8 and 9 close olf communication from the passages 2 and 3 and chamber 4 to the atmosphere as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing.v With the head thus applied, steam supplied to the steam inlet pipe lO'ows through passages 6, 5 and 2 to the chamber 4. Y

When it is desired to have the steam inlet pipe 10 lead directly into the head 1, the plugs 8 and 9 are first removed and then a screw-threaded plug 11 of smaller diameter than the passage 7 is passed through said passage from the exterior of the head and screwed into the passage 2 at a point inwardly beyond the passage 5, as shown in Fig. 4. With the head thus conditioned the steam pipe is connected directly to the head vso that steam supplied to the pipe flows through passage PATENT OFFICE.

3 to the chamber 4. It will here be noted that with the passage 2 plugged as just described and the head applied to a cylinder casing having the passage 6, collection of water in this passage 6, which would be the case if the lower end of the passage were plugged, is entirely eliminated.

When .there is no longer any demand for replacementheads for the type of compressor having the inlet passage 6, the head may be made with but a single steam inlet passage 12 asf shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that a compressor head made in accordance with the invention may be readily adapted A fluid compressor steam pressure head for use with a steam cylinder casing having a steam inlet passage formed in said casing or with a steam cylinder casing in which the steam inlet passage is not to be used or is omitted, said head having a steam chamber and two steam inlet passages through either of which steam is adapted to be admitted .to saidchamber and-having an opening leading from the exterior of the'fhead to one of the passages, the passage to which said opening leads being open to the under side of the head and adapted to register with the steam passage in the cylinder casing when steam is to be-supplied to vthechamber by way of the passage in the cylindercasing, the other of said passages leading to theexterior of the head, a removable plug closing said opening and a removable plug closing the last mentioned steam passage when steam-is to be supplied to the chamber through the passage in the cylinder casing, a Vplug adapted, when `steam is tovbe supplied to the chamber by way of said other passage inthe head; to be iny j serted from the exteriorpof the head through'said' opening and secured to the head for closing communication from'the'steam chamberto the pas-"5 sage leading to the underside of thel head.

CLYDE C. FARMERf 1 

